The politics, philosophy, and economics of equality and inequality

14 September 2012

$200,000 is the middle class?

I suppose if you're a multi-millionaire, a $200,000 income looks awfully middling. So, yes - according to candidate Mitt Romney, the middle class extends to those earning $250,000. See the full text of his interview here.

That definition, of course, would put approximately 95% of U.S. citizens in the middle class. Does this make any kind of sense, apart from a painfully obvious effort to get average income earners to support additional tax cuts for the wealthy? If I referred to the middle of my car as every part of it except for the front and rear bumpers, would I have something in mind other than obfuscation or misdirection?